The public are disillusioned with poor governance and badly behaved politicians

All of these controversies when exposed are rarely faced honestly. Instead they are obfuscated, referred to committees or inquiries or buried in any possible way. In fact, the more inquiries, Royal Commissions, Codes of Ethics, appointment of commissioners of all types to oversee the system that are initiated, the worse the system seems to become, not to mention the haemorrhaging of public funds to pay for all this mostly ineffectual superstructure.

The second group of reasons for the collapse of public faith in government is the "future shock" of rapid globalisation and the apparent reversion to laissez-faire 19^th century capitalism. National governments, let alone the public, seem relatively powerless faced with the trends to asset selling and privatisation, whatever the merits. Not only do governments seem unable to solve public problems but increasingly they are painted as ‘the enemy’. Tax avoidance has almost become a badge of honour; the rich appear to be getting richer; egalitarianism is dead; the quality of health and education now depends on personal wealth; co-operative and mutual public services are disbanded at an increasing rate. There seems to be few common values and the law-of-the-jungle attitude seems prevalent.

Whatever the truth of these public perceptions, none of these problems is unique to Australia and public despair seems common in governments around the world.

While human failings and the corruption of special interests will always be present, nevertheless many failings are systemic. Democracy is a relatively new system in the world’s history. In a recent international study into the level of democracy of the 21 industrialised countries, Australia ranks almost at the bottom based on our defective voting systems and continual minority governments. Single-member electorates and preferential voting eliminate minority representation but entrench minority government and distort the will of the people.

Winner-take-all electoral systems and adversary politics result in truth being irrelevant. Oppositions have little role in government except to disrupt and negatively oppose. Failure to confront the corrosive effects of huge private political donations combined with lack of openness and accountability encourages corruption, both direct and moral. The failure to have proper separation of powers and the domination of legislatures by executive government are major causes of scandals and breakdowns in democracy.

The winner-take-all, two-party system that has caused a political convergence of policies (the Tweedledum and Tweedledee syndrome) and a mutual interest in preserving a self-serving duopoly often leave the public powerless and frustrated.

While ever ‘representative government’ restricts public political participation to a manipulated vote every three of four years and remains largely self-regulating, public disillusionment and frustration with government will continue.